Patient control of hospital systems is generally accomplished through the use bed-side controls, such as, for example, bed-side pendants, connected to in-room equipment and a nurse call station. Such pendants allow a patient to page a nurse, control a television, and/or turn lights and other loads within the patient vicinity, on and off. Due to the nature of the hospital environment, such pendants must be safe for use by patients despite the close proximity to liquids, flammable gases, and physical abuse (e.g., drops on to the floor). To ensure the safety of patients and hospital staff, bed-side devices utilize low voltages to control devices which may operate at high voltages.
Low-voltage controllers (LVCs) are provided to facilitate low-voltage control of high-voltage loads, such as, for example, lamps and motorized curtains. Often, LVCs utilize a low-voltage signal from a momentary switch to signal a load to turn on or off and the switch signal may be simultaneously provided to the nurse call station where additional actions may occur. However, while current LVCs provide patients with the ability to turn lamps on or off, there exists no LVCs which offer the ability to dim lamps to one or more intermediate levels. As such, there is a need for an LVC that allows for integration into existing hospital systems, and that can provide the ability to select an appropriate light level.